For months now, fans have eagerly awaited a look at official footage from J.J. Abrams’ follow up to the 2009 hit, Star Trek, and now they will get more than they’d hoped for! Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures will team up in a mutually beneficial venture and present a 9-minute preview of Star Trek Into Darkness before IMAX 3D showings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey! More details after the break.

On December 14th, you’ll be able to see 9-minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness in IMAX 3D at showings of The Hobbit! These types of previews are a growing trend amongst studios who release highly anticipated films in the IMAX format. Back in 2007, folks who saw I Am Legend in IMAX got to see the first 7-minutes of The Dark Knight. Warner Bros. then attached the 6-minute prologue of The Dark Knight Rises to Paramount’s Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol. This type of marketing has worked well in the past for not just the studios, but for IMAX as well.

You can get more details in the press release sent out, below:

WORLD PREMIERE EXTENDED PREVIEW OF J. J. ABRAMS’ “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” TO DEBUT IN IMAX 3D ON DECEMBER 14th

THE FIRST 9-MINUTES FROM THE ANTICIPATED SEQUEL WILL BE RELEASED EXCLUSIVELY IN DIGITAL IMAX 3D THEATRES WORLDWIDE

HOLLYWOOD, CA (November 14, 2012) – Paramount Pictures will release the first 9-minutes from J.J. Abrams’ eagerly-awaited “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” exclusively in IMAX 3D months prior to the film’s official release in May 2013. This first-look at the movie will play in approximately 500 digital IMAX 3D theatres beginning December 14th.

“STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS,” the sequel to Abrams’ 2009 hit film that redefined the Star Trek universe for a new generation, marks the first time exclusive footage has played in IMAX 3D and only the third time a first-look will be released in IMAX.

“Our longtime partners J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk and the Bad Robot team have really hit it out of the park – the footage is absolutely incredible,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “Their use of the IMAX® Camera and canvas is sure to impress current and future Star Trek fans alike, and we’re thrilled to once again work with our friends at Paramount Pictures to offer this extended ‘first look’ at this highly anticipated summer blockbuster.”

To further the IMAX experience, “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” used IMAX cameras to capture several sequences. Exclusively in IMAX theaters, sequences filmed with the extremely high-resolution cameras will expand to fill more of the screen with unprecedented crispness and clarity, putting moviegoers right into the explosive action and vast scope of the film.

“STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” is written by Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and directed by J.J. Abrams. Abrams is producing with Bryan Burk through Bad Robot Productions, along with Lindelof, Kurtzman and Orci.